Back


Woodbridge News

Print this Page

February 9, 2006

Media Advisory. . . Media Advisory. . . Media Advisory. . .

WHAT: Woodbridge Concludes 2006 “Have A Heart” Food Drive

 WHEN: Special Ceremony – Monday, Feb. 13, 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: Health Center Auditorium, 2 George Frederick Plaza, Woodbridge

The 2006 Have A Heart Food Drive for the food banks of Woodbridge will conclude at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 13 with a special ceremony at the Township Health Center honoring the participation of Township school students, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

The Have A Heart Food Drive, so named because it runs through Valentine’s Day, is launched each January by the Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services and the We Feed Woodbridge Food Bank Committee. It was established in 1995 to address the problem of a traditionally low post-holiday food bank supply.

“We have asked people to extend their holiday season generosity into the New Year, and they have responded remarkably,” says Mayor Pelzman. “These students have played a vital role in making their community a better place to live.”

According to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report, 14 million American families – 11.9 percent of all U.S. households – are at some time during the year uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for all their members. O ver 13.8 million (19 percent) of American children reside in food insecure households, meaning they are hungry or at risk of hunger. 

The Have A Heart food donations are disbursed through distribution centers at St. James Church, St. Cecelia’s Church, First Congregational Church, First Presbyterian Church of Avenel, First Presbyterian Church of Iselin, First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, Trinity Episcopal Church and Congregation Adath Israel of Woodbridge.

“We accept food donations throughout the year,” says Peter Barcellona, 2006 Have A Heart chairman and Woodbridge Department of Health and Human Services employee. “But the Have A Heart campaign helps us get through the post-holiday period.”

Non-perishable food items may be brought to the Woodbridge Public Health Center, 2 George Frederick Plaza, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. weekdays. A food receptacle has also been placed in the Woodbridge Municipal Building at 1 Main Street.

Many Township schools contribute to the Have A Heart campaign, with teachers turning the food drive logistics into classroom curriculum exercises. Students create posters, flyers, graphs and other learning aids that apply lesson plans and problem-solving methods to the project. Fourth-grade teacherKristie Manente of Robert Mascenik School 26 says it is a task her students enjoy. “They do the full gamut of organizing, collecting and sorting,” says Ms. Manente. “It is an excellent exercise in civic responsibility,”

As part of an ongoing awareness campaign, Woodbridge Township uses public events throughout the year to focus attention on local food pantries, from the Mayor’s Summer Concert Series to the Barron Arts Center Holiday Concert. “The entertainment is free,” says Mayor Pelzman, “but by encouraging people to bring a food donation, we are able to bring in tens of thousands of additional items to the Woodbridge Food Bank.”